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PHILADELPHIA – Most of the Flyers were underwhelmed, if not disappointed, about the extra notch they felt was there that neither team had reached. They found it Friday night.

Playoff hockey tends to bring a new level of physicality, one that hadn't quite been reached between the Flyers and New York Rangers because of extra penalty calls.

"We wanted to come out and play physical and play on the line and not over the line," said Wayne Simmonds, who had three hits in Game 4. "I think we did a good job with that. Our first three or four shifts, we came out and everyone was taking the body. It set the tone for the rest of the game."

The tone in the series prior to Game 4 was far from flat lining, but it wasn't old-time hockey, either. The Flyers are in a familiar spot, leading the playoffs in minor penalties. They did it in the regular season, too. In all, the series has seen 41 minors, one shy of the series between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Columbus Blue Jackets.

"It's crazy. To me, that's not playoff hockey, but it is what it is," said the oft-penalized Zac Rinaldo. "You've just got to watch out now."

So do the officials. In Game 2, the Rangers were twice whistled for diving and apparently there were a few more instances from both sides that went uncalled.

"There is lots of embellishment, I will say that," Luke Schenn admitted. "Guys aren't afraid to try to draw penalties and put their team on the power play, which might take away from it a little bit. You're not sure what exactly is gonna be called and when they're gonna go down."

That had put a damper on how the Flyers play. For a team that likes to tow the line, they've tried to be more careful, especially after the Rangers ended up with six power plays in each of the first two games.

Rinaldo in particular has tried to not mix it up so much.

"It's either I'm gonna do something to my full potential or I'm not gonna bother with it at all," Rinaldo said. "I'm not gonna half-ass anything I do. I'm either gonna go out there and cause some [mayhem] after the whistle and stuff like that, but they don't want that so I'm not gonna do it."

Instead, Rinaldo is trying another skill he developed late in the year: drawing penalties instead of taking them. He did that in the early stages of Game 4.

"Both sides are just trying to help their team get on the power play, but it's better off to try to not worry about the refs' calls," Schenn said. "Play between the whistles, keep your stick down, keep your feet moving and finish checks. Whatever comes of it, comes of it, I don't think you can change your game plan."

Grossmann leaves with leg injury

Nick Grossmann left the second period of Game 4 with an apparent right-leg injury. He went awkwardly into the boards with Rangers forward Derick Brassard at the 5:25 mark of the stanza.

The hulking, 6-foot-4 blue liner did not return for the third period, and his status for Sunday's Game 5 is unknown. If he can't go, look for Erik Gustafsson to get a look from coach Craig Berube, who didn't have an update on Grossmann's status postgame.

Hal Gill might also get the call because he is similarly large at 6-foot-7 and also plays a stay-at-home game, but with how this series has gone, Gustafsson's speed is the greater asset.

Before leaving the game, Grossmann had played 8:03 and blocked one shot.

Power play back on track

The Flyers vowed to make changes to their man advantage after getting blanked in five tries in Game 3. It didn't look like there were many in the Flyers' two power plays, but Berube was happy with it after a goal by Jake Voracek that proved to be the game-winner.

"Well, we scored," the coach said with a chuckle. "It was a big goal. There wasn't a lot of time on the power play, but they actually moved the puck around pretty good and we ended up getting a couple opportunities.